Chapter 116: Swordsman Online 3 BL (X)

Previous Chapter ∇ Table of Content ∇ Next Chapter

Chapter 116: Swordsman Online 3 BL (X)

The night breeze brushed past them, and Mu Kuiqiu seemed to feel a chill. She could not help but draw her shoulders in slightly.

“It’s getting cold. Let’s go back.” Miao Lichen did not take off his coat to drape it over Mu Kuiqiu’s shoulders. Although that was what a gentleman was supposed to do, it would have been too intimate. His greatest talent was creating distance just when someone thought they had become close enough, while offering a sliver of hope whenever they began to pull away. He understood people’s thoughts far too well, making it easy for him to toy with their feelings without them ever realizing it.

Although he did not make the intimate gesture she had imagined, he still maintained his distinctive gentlemanly grace. They walked side by side, with barely a fist’s width between them, yet to her, that tiny distance felt impossibly far away. She imagined the day when she could openly hold his arm…

When they returned to the hotel, they saw the two men already sitting in the lobby. The moment Yang Qifeng and Rong Hansheng saw Miao Lichen enter, they both stood. Yang Qifeng immediately reached out and grabbed Miao Lichen’s hand, pulling him away from Mu Kuiqiu and over to his side. His pale fingers carried a faint chill. Whether it was his natural body temperature or the coolness of the night, Miao Lichen could not tell.

Miao Lichen slipped his fingers free and patted both men on the shoulders. Their clothes still carried a trace of the night’s chill, making it obvious that they had not actually been sitting comfortably in the lobby. There was no need to expose them, however. He merely nodded at Mu Kuiqiu and walked straight toward his room, locking the door as soon as he entered. He trusted those two to figure out their own accommodations.

“There are some things you have no right to touch.” Yang Qifeng’s voice was cold.

The shy, delighted smile that had appeared on Mu Kuiqiu’s face immediately disappeared. Her lips curved again, this time with a hint of disdain and confidence, while the coldness in her eyes was even sharper than that in Yang Qifeng’s. She had never been an easy person to deal with. “I could say the same to you.”

Rong Hansheng did not join their confrontation. He simply walked past them with an air of calm indifference. Fighting with rivals was foolish. If he wanted to win, he had to start with Miao Lichen himself. He glanced up at Miao Lichen’s tightly closed door, obtained the key to the room beside it from the front desk, and quickly entered, locking the door behind him. He turned the key card over in his hand, seemingly lost in thought. After a long while, a faint smile appeared on his lips. It looked innocent, but hidden beneath it was a hint of malice that no one noticed.

Sunlight carried a warm, comforting quality, making everything feel pleasantly cozy. Miao Lichen’s eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes with a hint of confusion. His body was pressed against something warm, the heat against his skin distinctly different from that of a blanket. It was impossible to ignore.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the delicate face of a young man. Rong Hansheng’s features were refined, carrying an innate sense of purity. Sleeping so defenselessly, without the calculations that appeared whenever he opened his eyes, made it easier for others to lower their guard around him. But that applied to ordinary people, not Miao Lichen. As for having the protagonist sneak into his bed, he remained completely calm.

In an ordinary hotel like this, what could money possibly fail to accomplish? Miao Lichen lifted the covers. His pale-silver-colored pajamas were slightly wrinkled. Apparently, he really was unaccustomed to wearing anything that was not red. Clothes in lighter colors simply showed traces too easily. Without saying a word, he walked toward the bathroom as though the person on the bed did not exist.

Rong Hansheng opened his eyes only after Miao Lichen left. Something flickered in his eyes before ultimately turning into a helpless chuckle. He had never expected such a move to make Miao Lichen agree to anything. He merely wanted to make sure his presence was remembered.

Yang Qifeng and Miao Lichen had known each other for a long time, and there was always a kind of tacit understanding between them that seemed impossible for outsiders to breach. Mu Kuiqiu could make use of her gender, showing vulnerability and affection to win Miao Lichen’s sympathy. It seemed that only Rong Hansheng had never managed to enter his focus. The only reason Miao Lichen had allowed him close was because he had confessed his feelings. Perhaps, given his youthful appearance, Miao Lichen simply regarded that confession as a child’s moment of stubbornness.

To create an ambiguous beginning, Rong Hansheng had worn nothing but his pajamas. Even those had not been particularly conservative, and when he moved, they revealed glimpses of his fair legs. His body was not nearly as delicate as his face suggested, either. It possessed just the right amount of masculine strength, neither too much nor too little. Yet apparently, all of this had been useless.

He stared intently at the bathroom door. When the sound of running water stopped, he immediately lowered his eyes, his breathing gradually slowing from its earlier urgency. Footsteps echoed beside him, and the soft mattress sank slightly as someone sat down.

A quiet laugh suddenly sounded beside his ear, making him open his eyes.

“What? You’re not going to keep pretending to be asleep?” Miao Lichen watched Rong Hansheng’s pupils contract sharply, though a faint flush appeared across his face. IIt was a beautiful sight, like an untouched spirit suddenly awakening to mortal desires because of a single sentence. There was a subtle allure hidden beneath that purity. But the person he wanted to tempt was no ordinary mortal. How could such a thing as a ‘mortal heart’ exist in Miao Lichen?

“You already knew. What would be the point of pretending?” Rong Hansheng’s words contained none of the shyness suggested by his appearance. Instead, he seemed almost deliberately composed. An involuntary fascination entered his eyes as he lost himself in Miao Lichen’s unusually delighted smile. He had already become accustomed to seeing Miao Lichen’s faint smiles. From the moment he had first seen him yesterday, the man had been smiling. But never like this. Now, an almost tangible sense of pleasure seemed to surround him, as though even the air had become warmer. His face, slightly flushed from the shower, looked especially alluring.

“There are no clothes here for you to wear. You should go back as soon as possible. Otherwise, if they get up…” Miao Lichen raised an eyebrow, amusement flickering in his eyes.

“Mm.” Rong Hansheng got up and opened the door. He did not know whether he had accomplished what he wanted, but simply seeing this different side of Miao Lichen was enough for him. The two people standing outside the door, already glaring at each other, immediately turned their attention toward him. The moment they saw the exposed skin, both their expressions darkened. Still, they had enough experience to tell at a glance whether anything had actually happened between Miao Lichen and Rong Hansheng.

Mu Kuiqiu made no attempt to hide the disgust in her eyes, though there was also a faint trace of relief. She was relieved that Rong Hansheng had not crossed the final line and actually given his body to Miao Lichen. Otherwise, given Miao Lichen’s personality, he might really have succeeded.

“What’s wrong?” Miao Lichen stepped outside and looked at the two people standing there. His expression remained unchanged. “Let’s go back.”

“Chenchen… you…” Yang Qifeng wanted to ask why Miao Lichen could accept someone else’s closeness so easily. He had spent more than a year trying to accomplish what Rong Hansheng had managed to do after only meeting him once.

Miao Lichen’s lips curved slightly, his eyes narrowing. “Let’s go. We shouldn’t keep the guild leader and the others waiting. We were already late yesterday. We can’t be late again.”

Miao Lichen ordered breakfast in the lobby and greeted the guild members before beginning his meal. The other three naturally took the seats beside him when they came down. If not for the hostility hidden beneath their exchanged glances, it might even have been considered a warm scene.

The next gathering was not held at a hotel but at a university’s cosplay club, which had been arranged in advance. Naturally, it was not something just anyone could rent. Fortunately, their guild leader, ElegantFlower, happened to be a professor at the university, making everything fall neatly into place.

The club was fully equipped, and students could still be seen moving about as they went about their business. From time to time, students passed by and could not help blushing when they caught sight of the handsome young men and beautiful girls gathered there.

Miao Lichen reached into the large pile of clothes and pulled out a red outfit. The fabric was not particularly high quality, but it was unmistakably modeled after the Qixiu Sect’s clothing. There were piles of white and black wigs neatly arranged in front of the makeup tables.

“Our guild leader really did prepare everything. Now we can have some fun.” MoonisColdHeartisCruel’s gaze moved between several familiar faces as though she were plotting something. A slightly sinister smile appeared at the corners of her lips, making everyone she looked at feel a chill run down their spines. The men were especially uneasy.

“As the guild leader of FleetingDream, how could I fail to prepare something like this?” ElegantFlower smiled gently as he walked toward the pile of costumes. Just as he bent down to pick something up, IamaSheep, who had been following closely behind him, quickly picked up a set of unmistakable Myriad Flowers Sect clothing and placed it in his hands. The attentive look in his eyes was impossible to miss.

Everyone’s attention instinctively shifted to IamaSheep, then to their respected guild leader. They seemed to realize something at the same time, but as clever people, they all silently pretended not to have noticed anything and looked away. IamaSheep was visibly nervous when he noticed everyone staring at him. When it became clear that no one intended to expose him, he continued eagerly catering to ElegantFlower.

Once everyone had put on their Swordsman Online 3 costumes, seeing those familiar outfits brought into reality made them even more reluctant to take them off. Naturally, wearing costumes meant taking photos. With an energetic girl like MoonisColdHeartisCruel keeping everyone moving, one photo after another appeared as if by necessity. Even Yang Qifeng and Rong Hansheng ended up with an ambiguous photo together, so there was no way Miao Lichen could escape having his picture taken.

• ·····

After a while, Miao Lichen finally emerged from the crowd and walked toward the guild leader, who was sitting off to the side. He wiped his fingers and followed ElegantFlower’s line of sight. Surrounded by everyone, IamaSheep was striking pose after pose, yet his eyes kept drifting toward this direction. Every time he was about to look over, however, the guild leader seemed to notice first and casually shifted his gaze away.

“You’ve already got him?” Miao Lichen smiled. “He really is innocent.”

“I like him that way. He’s much better than those people surrounding you. You should be careful, or else…” Otherwise, Miao Lichen might very well end up suffering because of his own carelessness. Some people would rather destroy something than accept that they could not have it. Looking at those three, he felt all of them showed signs of heading in that direction.

“Thank you for your concern, Guild Leader.” Miao Lichen picked up an unopened bottle of mineral water and took a few sips.

“So, have you made your choice?” A trace of gossip flickered through ElegantFlower’s eyes. Who said men could not be gossips?

“Didn’t they say they wanted to show me who is more suitable for me? The choice isn’t mine to make. I only need to wait for the outcome.” Miao Lichen’s smile remained gentle, but his slightly narrowed eyes carried a hint of coldness and distance.

The person truly suited to him probably had never appeared. Other than the Samsara Disk, which would never betray him, there would likely never be another existence capable of touching his heart. As that initial sense of novelty slowly faded, he began to feel somewhat tired of this world that had once belonged to him. He had always been a rootless wanderer. Why, then, should he need something like fate?

“Those people who fall in love with you really are…” ElegantFlower spoke with a tone that contained not the slightest trace of sympathy. “Pitiful.”

Silence settled between them. The atmosphere around their bodies seemed to gradually fall into the same rhythm. Their smiles looked equally gentle on the surface, yet beneath them lay the same indifference. The only things they cared about were the people they had chosen to care about. The greatest difference was simply that one of them had someone to care about, while the other had not yet found such a person.

Previous Chapter ∇ Table of Content ∇ Next Chapter